Free Fall at Angel Creek, page 19
She placed tender kisses all over her face, then rested her damp head on Dee’s heaving chest. She slowly withdrew and put her thigh between Dee’s legs, pressing against her still-throbbing center. As her pounding heart slowed back to normal, a nagging question interfered with her bliss. “I’m not complaining, but I thought you said we couldn’t do this.”
River propped herself up on one elbow, the streams of soft morning light through the drapes making her blond hair look like a halo.
“I know what I said, but I was wrong. Today was almost my last day on earth, and I’m not going to lose one more day with you. I don’t care what anybody else says. I love you, Dee, and I can’t live without you.”
Dee was stunned and overjoyed. “I love you too.”
She wrapped her arms around River and breathed in her scent. The roller coaster of emotions she’d been on the last several days made her hold tight to River. She had gone from seeing her almost killed before her eyes to making love with her. It was almost too much. She kissed River’s forehead. “So how are you feeling? You were pretty restless last night.”
“I’m good. Sore around my neck, but not too bad. How’s it look?”
“Yikes. It’s bad. I hope you have a hoodie to cover your bruises. Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?”
“Are you in a hurry to go somewhere? Because I’d like to stay in bed with you for a while.” River moved her hand up under Dee’s tee shirt and started massaging her breast.
“No. I don’t want to go anywhere. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. Oh, that feels amazing.”
River kissed Dee while she tugged at her nipple and pressed her leg into her.
“I want to make love to you, River, if you’re up for that?”
“Only one way to find out. Take me.”
That was all she had to say. Dee ripped off her remaining clothes, removed River’s, and threw the covers back. She rolled River onto her back and admired her luscious curves, especially her perfect round breasts. Dee settled between River’s legs and lowered her mouth to feast on River’s prominent nipples. River ran her fingers through Dee’s hair as she sucked and kneaded. Then she felt slight pressure on the top of her head as River urged her lower.
Dee felt heat radiating off the apex of River’s thighs. She took her time kissing the length of River’s stomach. Her mouth watered to taste her. She dragged her own breasts across River’s folds, opening her like the petals of a delicate rose. When she tasted River’s flesh for the first time, she felt such a rush of electricity, she thought she might explode. With her tongue, she tasted every part of River, and with her hands, she pressed River’s knees open. They moved as one, with their own unique ebb and flow. River’s body told Dee what she wanted, and Dee followed her undulating hips, accelerating her tongue and entering her. River gasped and grabbed Dee’s hair, pulling her face in.
Dee was unstoppable as she stroked River, taking her higher and higher with both her tongue and fingers. River relinquished her last bit of control and let Dee have her. She writhed, and moaned, and sang for Dee, until River gripped her fingers with her flesh and climaxed, shuddering with each wave. Dee held her firmly but didn’t stop.
“Please. I can’t take any more.”
“You surrender?”
“Yes. Completely. Come here.”
River pulled Dee’s face to her and kissed her deeply, longingly. Dee raised herself up to look at her. River’s face was so beautiful, so content, and she radiated happiness. Dee traced her fingertip over River’s swollen lower lip, across her jaw line, down her slender neck, and then she kissed along her collarbone. River answered by moving against her again. Dee never wanted it to end.
Chapter Twenty-five
Day 9
After a luxurious morning of lovemaking with Dee, River was floating on air. Dee was so much more than she’d ever expected. Her passion came through every time she kissed or touched her. Dee made love to her with such abandon and intensity, River thought she might never return to earth.
When she felt Dee’s arms around her and put her head on Dee’s shoulder, she was encircled with love and tenderness. It was different, but it was the most love and security she’d felt since her mother died. River was aware, for the first time in a long while, that she was hopeful for the future, as long as it included Dee.
After a lovely shower together, they packed up their things, including the precious maintenance records River had almost lost her life over, and left for the airport to catch a flight back to Portland. It was so great to be open and honest with Dee about how she felt, and so amazing to know Dee loved her too. Only one thing remained between them. She had to give Dee the suitcase with Naomi’s letters.
Now that they’d determined the explosion had originated in the center accessory compartment, the small suitcase filled with letters was no longer relevant to the investigation. She would return them to her, Dee could go through them as she was able to, maybe even with a therapist, and then they could talk about building a life together.
The plane flight to Portland was uneventful, and River was still tired from her near-death experience, so she closed her eyes, held Dee’s hand, and slept for most of the flight. After landing in Portland, they drove to Redmond to deliver the records and check the progress of the airframe reconstruction.
On the drive through the mountains, River tried to figure out the best way to tell Dee about the letters, but instead, Dee wanted to ask her questions.
“So, why are you single?”
“Well, I used to be, until last night. Why are you?”
“It’s not like I’m opposed to being in a relationship. Quite the opposite, in fact. I just haven’t found a woman I could really trust. My first girlfriend, Marci, the air traffic controller, led me to believe she was single, but she wasn’t. I dated a few women in the army, but we were all so afraid of ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,’ it never worked out.”
“What about after you became a civilian and moved to Portland?”
“That was better, because I didn’t have to fear losing my job if they found out I was a lesbian, but it certainly wasn’t easy. I met a woman I really cared for on a softball team, but she wasn’t good with fidelity, so that didn’t last. I also was gone too much with work. That lady required a great deal of attention, and I just couldn’t give it to her. That’s something I really like about you.”
“What is?”
“That you’re very independent and self-sufficient. So, you still haven’t answered my first question. Why are you single?”
River was quiet as she thought about her long and checkered past, with many attempts at love and many failures.
“I think I’ve had the same problem as you, with being away too much for work. In my case, the phone would ring in the middle of the night, and I’d be gone for a month. Not too many women are willing to put up with a partner who’s out of town half the time. When I was in the air force, we were always leaving for a new assignment to a new base, so we could never be stationed together. I was with one woman for five years. We met in graduate school at USC after I was medically discharged.”
“What happened with her?”
“I’m not really sure why it didn’t work out. She wanted a white picket fence and kids, but I wasn’t ready for that. We tried, but I couldn’t give her the commitment she needed. We’re still friends, but I don’t see her too often anymore.”
They both were quiet for a while, and then Dee squeezed her hand. “I don’t care about our pasts. I’m only interested in being with you now, and in making a future with you.”
“Me too, Dee.”
River was filled with a happiness she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
* * *
When they arrived at the hangar, everyone was buzzing with activity. Major progress had been made on the airframe reconstruction, and they’d found the digital flight data recorder. As Dee and River walked into the big hangar, all noise stopped, and everyone turned to look at them. Then the applause started. Everyone was clapping for them, even Ronald Moore. He approached them with his hand extended, shaking hands with both of them.
“Well done, both of you. The FBI filled me in on what happened at Relax Air headquarters. We’re so glad you’re all right, River, and I’m very happy you were with her, Detective Rawlings. Both the man who attacked you and the CEO, Lorenzo Franklin, are in FBI custody. The FBI intercepted Franklin at the airport as he was trying to skip the country in a private jet. Let’s get these maintenance records scanned into the computer.”
Dee noticed River was uncomfortable with the applause, so she raised her arm and gave the men a thumbs-up to acknowledge them.
“Let’s see if they found any more pieces,” River said.
They walked around the airframe within the scaffolding, then went to the CAC area on the underside of the plane. The missing section was more defined, with the perimeter filled in by more found parts.
“This confirms the CAC was definitely the origin point of the explosion, but we still need to figure out why it exploded,” River said.
“Someone could’ve planted a device in here. You had no trouble opening the hatch from the outside.”
“That’s certainly a possibility. There’s no lock on this hatch when it’s closed because only maintenance uses it, so it’s not hard to open if a person has access to the ramp.”
“Where’s the stuff from inside the CAC? Like all the batteries and radios we saw on the plane in Tucson?”
“Excellent question. We have some shelves against the wall where we put the unidentified parts. They might be over there.”
Considering the size of the aircraft, there weren’t that many unidentified parts on the shelf racks. The unknown pieces were grouped according to where they were found on the site map.
“Here’s the part I accidentally stepped on at Angel Creek, when we were out there the first day.”
River added, “And this is some wall insulation I found, also from Angel Creek.”
Dee spotted something. “Look at this. I think this is the CAC hatch door.”
River helped her as they lifted down the heavy mangled metal from a high shelf, and then River examined it.
“The inside surface is burned, and there’s a deformed area in the center, like it was pushed outward from pressure. Let’s see if it fits.”
They carried the two-foot by two-foot hatch over to the side of the right engine, and two engine techs came over.
“Could you guys get a ladder and help us lift this?” River asked them.
A crowd of investigators gathered around them to watch what they were doing. The techs brought over two ten-foot ladders and carefully raised the hatch to the side of the engine cowling.
“A little higher. That’s good. Now rotate the hatch ninety degrees to the right.”
They did as River directed, and the edge of the hatch fit into the gash in the side of the engine like a key into a lock. The crowd gasped.
“Hey, River. Come over here.”
Dee was staring at a curved piece of metal, black on one side and lime green on the other.
“I recognize this shape from when we were inside the CAC. It looks like it’s part of that big pipe that went through the compartment.” Dee reached for it from the top shelf. It was in a plastic evidence bag, with a numbered tag on it.
“Let’s see where they found this,” River said.
They located the item number on the site map. It was discovered just before Angel Creek in the debris path. River opened the plastic evidence bag, and the smell of jet fuel and scorched paint assaulted them.
River looked at it in disbelief. “Oh, no. This can’t be.”
* * *
“What is it, River?”
“I have to see the first maintenance records on this airplane, before it was modified. I hope to God I’m wrong.”
They ran over to the Maintenance Records desk.
“Let me see the records you just scanned into the computer system.”
The technician handed them to River, and they went to a table to examine them.
River was irritated with herself. “I should have gone through these as soon as I got them.”
“And when would you have done that? When you were in the hospital after that guy tried to kill you, or when we were in bed together in the hotel room?”
“I see your point.”
“What are you looking for in these records? They’re from several years ago.”
River turned the maintenance book over, so she could read it in reverse order. She flipped open a page and her face fell.
“It’s right here. The original tail number. It was changed when this plane was converted into a passenger airplane, like it was rebuilt into a completely new aircraft. Dee, this airplane wasn’t just a cargo freighter. It used to be a KC-10.”
“Why’s that important? It’s kind of the same plane, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s not. The piece of pipe you found is only in a KC-10 because it’s part of the air refueling system. This is the shroud that goes around the air refueling manifold in the CAC. It’s a pipe within a pipe, to prevent fuel from leaking. They had to put this in because the fuel leaked into the electrical CAC compartment from this very beginning of this airplane’s life.”
“Are you saying this pipe caused the explosion?” Dee asked.
“This pipe leaked fuel into the CAC. Then just the right combination of fuel vapor, oxygen, and a spark from an ignition source blew up the plane. These people never even had a chance. The worst part is, this was a known problem in the KC-10 fleet. It was a design defect by the manufacturer.”
“Explain, River.”
Ronald Moore had walked up behind River and heard her comment. A crowd of investigators stood around her to listen.
“When McDonnell Douglas made the DC-10 into an air refueling tanker for the US Air Force, the forward and aft baggage compartments were converted into fuel tanks, and the manifold pipe was installed to carry fuel from the different tanks out to the air refueling boom. The problem was, it cost more money to route the pipes around the CAC compartment to keep the fuel lines out of an electrical area. They knew the fuel pipes could leak because we carried different types of gas, which made the seals leak. So instead of moving the pipes properly, they put a pipe shroud around the manifold, but it leaked anyway. Fuel would soak the insulation whenever maintenance opened that compartment door. There was an accident at Barksdale Air Force Base when fuel vapors in the CAC were ignited by a spark, and it caused a KC-10 to blow up on the ramp. This is the reason our plane exploded, but there were contributing factors.”
“What contributing factors?” Ronald asked.
“The tail number of this aircraft was 79-0433 when it was a KC-10. I know this plane because I was the US Air Force chief accident investigator when it was damaged in a ground mishap many years ago. It was repaired, so it was safe to fly, but the crews said it flew like it was crooked. It was in the maintenance hangar so much, the air force returned the plane to the manufacturer to be used for spare parts. It sat for several years, then was transferred to a third-party aircraft-leasing company. They sent it to the Chinese facility to be converted into a passenger plane. The Chinese mechanics should have removed the air refueling manifold and these pipes from the CAC, but they didn’t.”
“Why wouldn’t they remove the fuel manifold if it was no longer needed?” Dee asked.
“Because it cost more money, just like always. The fact that the Relax Air management wanted to maximize their profits was the proximate cause.”
“What’s that term mean?”
“It is the last thing in the mishap chain of events that led to this explosion. After the air force KC-10 blew up on the ground, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive requiring the CAC to be inspected for fuel leaks before every flight, and that the insulation be removed from the compartment. Lorenzo Franklin had his mechanics ignore that directive to save time and money. If the Relax Air management had complied with this directive before flight 402 left Chicago and they’d found and repaired the fuel leak, this aircraft would not have blown up.”
“So not removing the manifold allowed fuel to leak into the CAC, and failure to inspect it allowed fuel to accumulated there, but what’s the ignition source?” Ronald asked.
River went over to the unknown-parts shelves and picked up the small silver piece of metal Dee had found in the creek bed.
“I believe it was this—a battery cable from one of the batteries in the CAC, which shorted out, caused the spark, and then ignited the fuel vapor.”
River could see confusion on Dee’s face as she tried to put this together.
“Ultimately, the Relax Air management is responsible for this accident. It wasn’t a bomb, or a missile, or a lightning strike, or even pilot error. It was a chain of events that could have been prevented.”
All sound in the hangar stopped. Everyone was very quiet as the real reason for the accident sunk in.
River reached for Dee and held her. “I’m so sorry.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Dee didn’t say anything on the drive back to the hotel. Ordinarily, she would be celebrating with her team when they solved a case, but she didn’t feel like celebrating. This was personal. Part of her wished she could beat the life out of the greedy, smarmy CEO with her bare fists, but that wouldn’t accomplish anything. He’d just be replaced by another CEO, who’d probably do the same thing.
Is this the futility that crime victims feel when the system that’s supposed to bring justice fails them?
River reached for her hand and held it. The warmth of her touch grounded Dee in the present. She was proud of the investigative work they’d done together, but now she had to face the aftermath.
